


Last Second Chances

by Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw



Series: February Ficlet Challenge 2021 [17]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Innuendo, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:36:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29529288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw/pseuds/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw
Summary: Susan grows up and decides it's time to see more of the galaxy and maybe reconnect with her grandfather. Jack wakes up and realizes he needs some funds to get things started. They both wind up in Pompeii, where sparks fly.Pairing: Susan Foreman/Jack HarknessPrompt: Volcano
Relationships: Susan Foreman/Jack Harkness
Series: February Ficlet Challenge 2021 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141604
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4
Collections: February Ficlet Challenge 2021: Apocalypse No





	Last Second Chances

It had taken eight off-and-on years, one regeneration (courtesy of an unstable fuel cell, leaving her vaguely Southeast Asian in appearance), and hundreds of components salvaged from Dalek ships, but Susan had finally built herself a vortex manipulator. Her test-run had successfully sent a shop mannequin twenty minutes into the future, which meant it was probably safe enough. She was a grown and independent woman, which was what her grandfather had wanted for her, and that meant it was time to track him down and either hug him or give him a piece of her mind. (She wasn’t sure yet.)

That left the simple yet vexing question of where and when to plug into the coordinates. Where would Grandfather go? He liked Earth history, and there were a few places he’d mentioned that he’d always wanted to visit, and she could cross off those they had already explored. That moved Ancient Rome to the top of the list, and in the blink of an eye she was gone.

***

Jack had woken up on Satellite Five horrifically alone. Daleks? Gone? The Doctor and Rose? Gone, and the TARDIS with them, so hopefully they were still alive. Unlike every other human being aboard. Earth was still transmitting, which was good, but Jack had no idea what to say, for once in his life. So he set the distress beacon, gathered a few supplies, and decided it was time to leave this necropolis. 

Jack considered his options, his possible destinations. He could try to find the TARDIS (again, assuming his friends had survived). He could go someplace - anyplace - new (but where?). He could wait for pickup from whoever was watching the distress beacon (while biding his time in a _mass grave_ ). None of them were great options...but they would all sound better if he had some ready cash in his pocket. That meant pulling one last job, which for him meant scavenging something small, valuable, and portable. Plugging in a set of coordinates he knew by heart, “Pompeii, here I come,” he muttered, and vanished.

***

Jack nursed a flagon of wine, eyes wandering but ears perked up. There, the signal. A young woman ordered the house special, and, while her Latin (and figure) may have been flawless, her accent and mannerisms placed her as a foreigner to the place and the century. His lips easily formed his usual winning grin as he beckoned his contact to join him. This wouldn’t be bad at all; hell, maybe if he played his cards right, he could mix business with pleasure. 

***

Susan took her meal and sat down across from the handsome foreigner. He was obviously not of this time or place: if she was lucky, he had a time ship of his own that would be more pleasant than her vortex manipulator. If she was very lucky, he might actually know her Grandfather. And, judging by the way he was eying her, as long as she was simply not unlucky, he would probably have sex with her. Which felt appropriate, given the Roman tradition of hedonism.

“I’ve got the package,” the stranger announced. A bit crude of an advance, but she’d let this play out a while longer. “If you want to inspect it.”

“I think a hands-on inspection is warranted,” she replied smoothly, banishing thoughts of the awkward teenager of a few years past. And, for good measure, she slipped one foot out of her sandal and up his calf. He merely grinned and jerked his head towards the exit.

***

Jack gasped between kisses as they fumbled with their togas in his tiny rented room. “Susan, you said, right?” She nodded. “I want you to know that I don’t usually--” That was a lie. “I don’t always do this with clients.”

She drew back. “Clients? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were a prostitute - I think I have enough to cover - oh, let me find my purse.”

“Prostitute?” Jack echoed. “Wait, what do you think is going on?”

Susan's brow furrowed. “At first I thought you were another time traveller--”

“‘Another?’” Their eyes met as reality realigned around them. 

Suddenly a dull roar drowned out anything either of them might have been about to say. Jack’s eyes widened. “We should probably continue this conversation! Anywhere but here!” He rattled off a string of coordinates, which she plugged in to her own vortex manipulator, nodding. 

This was about to get very interesting, they thought, whisking away through time and space just as a wave of ash swept through the room.


End file.
